Heel guard for sling pumps



July 15, 1958 w. P. BARNES HEEL GUARD FOR SLING PUMPS Filed Oct. 12, 1955 Fig. 8

A a m M/liam P. Barnes INVEN TOR.

2,842,769 HEEL GUARD FOR SLING PUMPS William F. Barnes, San Angelo, Tex. Application @ctoher 12, 1955, Serial No. 539,978 1 Ciairn. (Cl. 2-22) This invention generally relates to a device for use by women when wearing high heel shoes generally known as pumps that employ a strap or sling extending from the main body portion or uppers of the shoe in encircling relation to the heel of the wearer.

in the use of the above type of shoes, considerable difficulty is experienced in retaining the sling or strap in spaced relation to the bottom of the heel portion of the foot wherein the sling will normally fall downwardly and become ineffective and unsightly. Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a guard for direct attachment to the heel of a wearer wherein the sling or strap is retained in proper relation to the heel wherein the shoe will be retained on the foot in a neat appearing condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heel guard for the purposes described which may be positioned in any desired relation and will be relatively neat and unnoticable.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, ease of attachment, effectiveness for its particular purposes and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing costs.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a foot of a wearer having a shoe thereon utilizing a sling strap wherein the guard of the present invention is employed for retaining the strap or sling in proper position;

Figure 2 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 2-2 of Figure 1 illustrating the construction of the heel guard and the relation thereof to the strap;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the inner surface of the heel guard illustrated in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the construction of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of another modified form of the heel guard;

Figure 6 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 66 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a plan view of another modified form of the present invention; and

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the construction of Figure 7.

Referring now specifically to the ofiicial drawings, the numeral 1'!) generally designates the heel guard of the present invention for attachment to the heel portion 12 of the foot 14 of a wearer wherein the heel guard Jill is provided for retaining the sling or strap 15 nor mally attached to the main body portion or uppers 18 of the shoe generally desigated by the numeral 26) positioned on the foot 14 of the wearer. The shoe 20 also includes a relatively high heel 22 wherein this type of shoe is generally known as high heeled pumps and the strap 16 tends to fall downwardly off the heel 12 alongside the high heel 22 of the shoe 20. The guard 10 prevents this action and retains the strap or sling 16 in proper position.

fite itates Patent 0 Patented July 15, 3958 The guard 10 includes a strip of material 24 having an adhesive coating 26 on the inner surface thereof which attaches directly to the heel 12 of the wearers foot 14. Positioned under the central portion of the strip of material 24 is a member 28 having an enlarged lower end generally designated by the numeral 30 thereby forming an upwardly facing ledge 32 for supporting the rear of the strap 16. The inner surface of the member 28 as well as the enlarged lower end is provided with a coating of adhesive material 32, wherein the entire area of the inner surface of the guard 10 is provided with adhesive for attachment to the heel 12 in the desired position.

As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the heel guard is generally designated by the numeral 34 and includes an elongated strip of material 36 having an adhesive covered inner surface designated by the numeral 38 wherein the lower edge thereof is reversely bent as designated by the numeral 40 for receiving therein a filler 42 which forms an upwardly facing ledge generally designated by the numeral 44 for supporting the heel strap in in the same manner as the device illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 7 illustrates another form of the present invention designated generally by the numeral 46 which includes a strip of material 48 having an adhesive coating 5%) and a projection 54 is provided on the lower outer surface thereof forming a ledge 52 acting as a support for the strap 16 in the usual manner.

It will be understood that the strips of material may be pointed at the ends thereof for blending into the surrounding area of the foot 14. Also, the entire device may be constructed of flesh colored material to eliminate the unsightly appearance of the strip of material. The guard 10 may be so constructed that it may be positioned alongside the foot of the wearer as well as at the rear edge thereof for supporting the sling strap of high heel pumps thereby retaining the pumps in position on the foot and permitting more comfortable walking and an extremely simple device for easy attachment to the heel.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A device for supporting the rear portion of a heel sling in normal elevated position, said device comprising a strip of thin, flexible material, a coating of adhesive material on the inner surface of said strip for releasably mounting the strip of material on the surface of the rear of the heel of a wearer in partial encircling relation thereto, the outer surface of said flexible strip having a transversely extending substantially horizontally disposed ledge for engaging the lower edge of the heel sling for preventing downward movement of the sling thereby retaining the sling in normal elevated position, the outer surface of the flexible strip above the ledge engaging the inner surface of the heel sling thereby protecting the heel of the wearer from chafing by the heel sling.

References Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,528,882 Kcnnerly Mar. 10, 1925 1,803,716 Lyness May 5, 1931 2,487,423 Cast Nov. 8, 1949 2,489,429 Nathan Nov. 29, 1949 

